"THEOOOOO!!! GET DOWN HERE ALREADY!! THE CARS STARTING!" A shrill young girl's voice rang through the nearly empty house.
"I'll be right there!," I shouted back, frantically rummaging through my dresser, in search of one of my favorite t-shirts.
Not here.
Nope.
Where did I leave it???
As I searched, my heart couldn't help but pound with excitement. We were leaving town for the first time as a family, driving up north to our cottage, and I could hardly contain myself.
There you are!
Balling up the shirt and shoving it into my bag, I quickly glanced around my room.
I got everything.
"THEOOOOOO!!!" My sister's voice rung out through the house, somehow shriller than before.
"COMING!!" I yell back, and leave my room, practically flying down the stairs I saw the family car outside, purring like an old family feline. My sister, Layla, stood next to the trunk, organizing the bags, I tossed mine in there haphazardly. She shot me a glare and I retorted with a sweet smile and shrug.
Pulling open the door and getting inside, I could hear my dad casually humming along with the radio as he waited for the rest of us to get in. He tilted the rear view mirror and looked at me, giving me a questioning look.
"How you feeling champ? First time outta town, eh?" He asked.
I rolled my eyes gave a chuckle.
"It's okay I guess," a plain lie, I was beyond excited. Leaving the neighborhood, much less the town, was something I never did, or rather, not allowed to do. I was homeschooled, and accompanied almost everywhere. Sneaking out was my only method of leaving, and even then I didn't know where to go. I simply hung out in the parks at night, but they were empty almost always.
But now? I graduated highschool, kinda, I didn't get a graduation ceremony. Although I had a pretty neat party at home, a movie marathon, junk food that probably clogged up my arteries in a dozen places, and then I hopped on my computer for the rest of the night, playing online with random encounters who wanted to team up. I'm actually really good at shooting ga-
Wait.
I went on a tangent, I'm was rambling.
What was I talking about?
Right, graduation.
Now that I was eighteen, my parents had delivered on their promise, I'd have freedom to go wherever, but insisted I accompany them to the cottage beforehand.
Once Layla, mom, and my little brother Tony were in, dad rolled out of the driveway and eased onto the road, driving off.
I slipped my headphones into my ear, the world melted into a blur of countryside and hip hop beats.I was never a normal kid, that I knew, but it never really bothered me. Being homeschooled wasn't the weird part, it was the horns and tail that really took the spotlight. For the longest time, I had considered myself human, and I practically was. Throwing on a beanie, tucking my tail up into my hoodie, and not smiling, you wouldn't even shoot me a second glance. I was so normal, so inconspicuous. Despite my pleadings, I wasn't allowed to leave, to have friends, or go to a normal school. I was alone, there's only so much you can do to occupy your boredom before going berserk, that's when I took to the internet.
To be honest, I have to hand it to my parents. Had I gone to school, I would stick out like a sore thumb, and my life would be a living hell. I grew to understand that they were just trying to protect me, which made complete sense even now.
And for the record, I don't have a clue what I am. I would search everywhere for anyone like me, on the internet, obviously. But nothing of relevance came up. It was all just, overly attractive demon boy 'comics', you know, those types of novels.
I'd mutter in disgust before moving on, and eventually I stopped trying, assumed I was a rare birth defect, and moved on with my life.I felt the car bump and crunch over the dirt road in the woods, we were nearing the cottage, and I pulled out my headphones. My siblings were still indulged in their devices.
"Guys look! The lake! It's huge!" I muttered in semi-disbelief. The largest body of water I've seen was when the ditch in my front yard would flood during the rainy season. I'd make little paper boats and let them sit on the surface, only to have them dampen and sink.
This lake? I could fold a million paper boats and I wouldn't even be able to cover a third of its surface. It shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, a few sailboats drifted on the far side.
"Yeah, a huge puddle, big deal," Layla scoffed, and looked back to her phone.
"I think it looks real cool," Tony said, giving me his typical starry eyed look, and I smiled.
"Anything looks cool to you, Nee, you're a third grader," Layla snapped back, I was about to retort when my mom spoke.
"Phone, hand it over, that was mean," she said sternly. A few minutes and passive aggressive comments from my sister later, she was phone-less and staring out her window at the trees. Tony was smiling triumphantly.
"Do we get to swim in the lake?" I asked, looking over at dad.
"Sure do, fishing, canoeing, the whole sha-bang!" He said and adjusted his glasses.
"'Sha-bang'? Really Edward? Even I'm embarrassed," mom said, shrinking back into her seat, my sister even more so.
"What? Would you rather me talk like the kids? Woke? Lit? Epic? See even I know it sounds horrible, leave me to my devices, Rachel," he retorted playfully. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, my parents were possibly the sweetest people on the planet, I don't know how they'd managed to make the most cynical and evil sister ever.The car came to a halt in front of the cottage, it looked a little old. Mom had told us that this was her home when she used to be an Ornithologist way back when.
"I just could never let it go, no matter how much they offered, it has too many good memories attached," she'd say, eyes seemingly glimmering with warm nostalgia. Man, birdwatching must be one very emotional experience.I hauled my bag out of the back and wobbled up onto the porch, which creaked and groaned from the weight. The main door was propped open and I stepped inside. It smelled like pinecones and peat moss. The air was dusty and I fought the urge to sneeze as I looked around. The layout wasn't anything special. First floor had a kitchen, dining room, and living room. The back porch could be seen from the entrance. Upstairs were the rooms, three of them. Mom was clearing out two of the rooms she used as offices, the papers and file cabinets had stayed here all those years. Surprisingly untouched and intact.
Once I got upstairs, I could hear a small commotion in one of the rooms. I walked over and saw Layla arguing with dad while Tony was picking at the wall in a corner.
"You can't be serious," Layla said in disbelief.
"Oh I very much am! There aren't enough rooms here and you're sharing with Tony, that's final," my dad replied, his 'my house my rules' tone was being used. Layla only resorting to a quick stomp of her foot and a huff that I swear made smoke puff out of her ears.
"Ugh, I can't believe I have to do this, this whole vacation is meant to be relaxing there isn't anything relaxing about waking up in the middle of the night because Nee was having a nightmare," she grumbled and shot Tony a death glare, he looked hurt, and went back to picking at the wall.
"Say what you want, but if you don't get along with your little brother, then you can forget about your phone for the rest of summer break," dad said with a testing raise of his eyebrows.
Layla sighed and cooled down a little, then looked to me. I realized I was standing in the doorway silently watching, and snapped out of it.
"What is it?" Layla said, shooting me a glare too. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared of her.
"Nothing! I was just seeing who has what room," I reply.
"Well get out, this isn't yours," she hurled back. I swear to god, middle schoolers have no chill. Did I mention they were terrifying yet?
My dad only shook his head in disappointment and left to help my mom. I also left to the neighboring room and began setting up my stuff.The sun had long set, and we just finished prepping the cottage, everyone was exhausted, even little old Tony. Picking splinters off of his bedroom walls was a chore for the little guy. I muttered my good nights to everyone and climbed upstairs, finding my room and flopping onto my bed, passing out instantly.
YOU ARE READING
Wh- at the fuc (draft pleas dont bully me i like writing sometimes)
FantasyHeughsj mm i liek stori